Chase's Worst Nightmare
by Autobot Lancewing Beta 06
Summary: When a shadow from Chase's past returns, the other members of the PAW Patrol must watch Chase and Skye. But when Chase is injured and Skye is kidnapped, they must find Skye before the unthinkable happens.
1. Chapter 1

Chase's Worst Nightmare **Chapter 1**

In the command center of the Lookout, Ryder stood before the pups that were already present: Rocky, Rubble, Marshall, Zuma and Miracle, the newest member of the PAW Patrol. In case you'd somehow forgotten, our friend Miracle was an Australian shepherd whose talents related to medical work. She stood on next to Rocky with a slight indentation where Skye was absent; when the cockapoo got there, Miracle would be on her left. She looked as determined as anyone else to hear about and solve the problem.

Finally, Chase and Skye made it through the elevator in their uniforms and leapt into their positions in the formation. "Ready for action Ryder, Sir," Chase barked slightly out of breath.

"Are you okay Chase?" Marshall asked, staring at the exhausted German shepherd with concern.

"Yeah, I just… had to take care of something." Chase said, out of breath.

"Is it some girl?" Rocky asked with a smirk.

Chase glared at Rocky, "You're never going to let that one go, are you?"

"Nope."

"Guys, focus. We have a serious emergency on hand," Ryder announced, giving all of the pups a firm look. "This is a serious problem! Katie's father was visiting from the mainland, and was attacked by a large dog."

The pups all gasped at this revelation. One of their own kind had attacked a human?

"That's terrible," Skye said, voicing what everyone was undoubtedly thinking..

"It is," Ryder agreed as he swiped his tablet screen. "We'll need everyone's help, and we need to get over there _right away._ Once Miracle gets a look at Katie's father, we can split up and find this dog."

All seven dogs barked, and rushed towards the slide before Ryder could even announce that the PAW Patrol was on a roll. The first one to make it to his rig was Chase. His doghouse automatically transformed into his police officer vehicle, and he landed in it before the terrain around the Lookout moved around so Rocky's vehicle could form from his doghouse.

Rocky landed in it before the terrain once again switched around so Rubble could get in his own bulldozer-turned doghouse. Rubble made it to his doghouse, the doghouses rotated again to let Skye do the same thing, replacing the bulldozer with a helicopter.

Next up was Miracle. While her rig transformed with no problem, she was still a little confused as to how to drive it. Unfortunately, she got the reminder that there were other dogs behind her when Marshall slid into the rig with her by mistake, causing her to yelp in surprise. "Oh, hey, Miracle. What are you doing in my rig?" the dalmatian asked.

"Um… This is my rig," she said while pointing out the white coloration of her vehicle.

Then the area around the Lookout rotated quickly, causing both pups to scream. Zuma landed in his own vehicle with ease.

"Guess it needs to get used to having seven pups," Marshall said with a shy grin before jumping out and dashing up to his own fire truck-based rig.

Ryder burst out of the garage on his four-wheeler and shouted, "PAW Patrol is on a roll!" before he led the pups through the town.

Miracle finally figured out how to drive her vehicle before she sped off to meet the other members.

Luckily for the Patrol (and for Katie's father) the site of the attack wasn't too far from the Lookout. It was merely across the bridge and right at the small beach that was underneath it on the opposite side.

"Miracle, check out Mr. Forrester," Ryder ordered.

"You got it," Miracle said while dashing toward the victim. He was sitting on a park bench, with Katie sitting closely by him. "Hi, I'm Miracle. Where does it hurt?"

"My leg," he answered with strain in his voice.

"Could you roll up your pant leg?"

Mr. Forrester rolled up his pant leg revealing the moderately sized bite. It was a large breed of dog, that was for sure; but the bite also indicated that it wasn't fully grown yet. The only parts of the bite that went deep enough to need stitches were the spots where its cuspids had sunk in.

"I'll need to clean the wound and stitch up the areas where the incisors made it through before I start bandaging that leg, but can you tell me what this dog looks like?"

"I think it was German Shepard," Katie replied.

With those words, Chase's ears perked up. "Can you say that again?" he asked.

The distraught girl stared at the pup for a second before repeating, "I think it was a German Shepard."

"What color was it?" Chase asked Mr. Forrester.

"Brown fur, just a tad bit darker than yours," he said.

"Well, that means every OTHER German Shepard in Adeventure Bay is a suspect." Miracle noted.

"Well, he looked like he was about two years old and there was this scratched up collar around his neck.

Chase sniffed the air, hoping to pick up a sce- "Oh no…" Chase's eyes widened.

"What is it?" Miracle asked.

"I think I know who we need to look for," he said, "Ryder, Sir, are there any runaway dogs in Adventure Bay's database that go by the name 'Swift'?"

"Swift?"

Chase nodded.

"I don't know… Do you think they did it?"

"I smelled him, but no other dog other than us."

"Hmm… I'll check it out when I-"

Before Ryder could finish, Chase darted off.

"Chase! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to track him down and turn him in before someone else gets hurt!"

"Wait!" Skye squeaked before she and Rocky exchanged a glance and charged after their friend. Ryder followed.

The boy was panting by the time he caught up to the PAW Patrol police officer. "It's too dangerous to go alone," he huffed. "We need to go… together."

"Ryder's right," Rocky agreed with a nod.

"But it'll take longer," Chase pointed out, "And we need to find him NOW."

"What if you got yourself injured… o-or worse?" Skye whimpered. "I'm going with you, no matter what."

"Stay here, Skye. You can't get hurt."

"Neither can you!" Rubble exclaimed as he dashed up himself.

"Look, it'll be too late to do anything about it by the time Miracle's done. Besides, it's me he's after."

"How do you know that?" Skye asked.

"I just… do, alright?"

"Are you absolutely sure and positive he's after you?"

"Yes."

Zuma and Marshall dashed up themselves. "But _how?" _the former asked, tilting his head.

Chase inhaled deeply. "...Because he's my brother."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

All of the pups, along with Ryder and Katie, stared at Chase with their jaws unhindged and their eyes stretched to ridiculous proportions. The day had ended on a dramatic note: the PAW Patrol had gotten a mission concerning a dog that attacked someone. Chase had just revealed the nauseating possibility that this pup was his brother. "Are you _sure _it's him?" Ryder finally asked.

"I'm positive. It's Swift."

"And how do you know that he wants you?" Marshall asked.

"Because he has a grudge against me. Look, the reason why he attacked Mr. Forrester was so he could draw me out and it worked. Now I need to track him down."

"But can't we talk to him?" Rubble asked, "He hurt Mr. Forrester pretty bad, imagine what he might do to you!"

"Please don't go, Chase," Skye begged.

"I have to. I'm sorry, but this is my fight," Chase said before darting off again.

"Ugh!" Skye facepawed and chased after him. The rest of the patrol followed after an exchanged glance.

Chase began sniffing the ground as he started following the scent to Main Street. Lights around the biggest street in Adventure Bay lit his way as he continued, his nose lowered to the ground. Skye and the other pups (and Ryder) were following the focused German shepherd. When Chase heard them calling his name, he knew that he would need to lose them. Even if they wanted to help, his brother would be hostile, even dangerous. He couldn't risk them getting hurt.

He quickly turned away from the scent trail and started running through random alleys. He hoped that the stench of the alleys might keep him from the others, but it would take a bit more than that to throw his friends off.

He finally ran to the end of the alley he was currently in and deployed his net. The net attached to each end of the walls, and he quickly jumped up some crates that were stacked up, climbing the net the last ten feet or so to get onto the roof. He barked shortly to retract his implement, and continued from the air. He would be uninterrupted, unless Skye flew over the net, or they backtracked and tried to go a different way. Either way, it would buy Chase some time to find Swift before the others could.

As he walked along, he continued to look for anything that might mask his scent; trash, water, anything. All too soon, however, the scent he was originally tracking got stronger. _No, not now! I still need more distance!_

But Chase's instincts won in. He followed the scent, which was definitely on the ground, from the roof, going at a quick pace. Chase jumped off of the roof he was on, landing in a dumpster. He got out and shook. He wrinkled his nose.

_'Ugh, that oughta do it.'_

He jumped out of the dumpster and continued sniffing for him, trying his best to ignore his own rotten smell. Soon enough, he did manage to find it, and he trailed along the ground, his nose lowered, in pursuit of it.

Suddenly, he was pinned to the wall! He snarled and lashed out with his blunt claws in retaliation. He glared at the pup in front of him and showed his teeth. Glaring back at him was a pup with the same stance, but his chompers were considerably sharper. He had a green collar that was worn out, possibly near the end of its life. His claws were as sharp as daggers and his bright yellow eyes were screaming rage.

"Now Chase," the pup said testily, not getting out of his stance, "is that any way to treat your older brother?"

"After what you just did," Chase said, "You need to be locked up."

The other pup rolled his eyes, "Harsh."

"Yeah, well you attacked a human and assaulted a member of the PAW Patrol, me."

"The human attacked me, I was just defending myself."

"And how should I trust you after you told me to lie to my own parents for one of your crimes?"

"You don't have a choice. I just happen to know all your friends' scents, so I know who I need to… well..." Swift chuckled.

"Leave them out of this. This fight is between you and me."

"And I know you have a liking to a particular cockapoo."

Chase's growling intensified.

"It would seem that I struck a nerve there. Shall I go introduce myself to her?"

"Leave… Her… Alone!"

Chase leapt at Swift, his paws and claws outstretched and his jaws ready to sink into fur. Swift managed to dodge Chase, but then he recovered quickly. Before he could do anything to the larger pup, Swift leapt at him and slapped him with his paw, knocking his lower jaw out of place.

The police dog fell to the ground with a loud yelp. Swift took advantage of it and hovered over him before snapping at his snout, though he clearly wasn't using all of his strength. He held Chase's paws down under him and grinned sadistically. "Vera? You're child's play for me." He took his right paw and placed it on Chase's chest. "It'll be so easy to-"

"Chase!"

Chase's eyes widened, _'Skye, no!'_

Skye stood in the mouth of the alleyway, her eyes wide with terror as her muscles shock still. Swift smirked and grinned dangerously at the small cockapoo. "Well hello, señorita," he muttered lowly.

Chase tried to get up, but he heard a loud snap before feeling a terrible pain in his chest, causing him to yelp loudly. "What are you doing to Chase?!" she yowled.

"Well, I have my paw to his chest, and I managed to press my paw downward causing him to break two of his ribs. You really are an airhead if you can't see that."

Chase growled, and tried to get up, but he heard another snap and even more pain jolted through him, "And just now I broke another rib. How interesting."

"Stop it!" Skye yelled in anguish. She tensed up her muscles to leap. _Skye, no…!_

"Estupido. If you leap at me, I will just do the same… or worse… to you."

"Go away, Skye! You don't know what he'll- Agh!" Another series of snaps snap, on the other side. Swift broke two more of Chase's ribe.

His eyes were fiery and sadistic. "And I can break every bone in his body if you don't comply," he growled, "And when I'm done, if you're still here, I'll start on you."

Fortunately, he wouldn't get that chance because a flying trash can lid hits Swift straight in the chest, knocking him off of Chase. The smaller pup couldn't move, but he managed to steal a glance at Rocky, whose mechanical arm was deployed.

"Stay away from my friends," he growled.

Swift spat, his neck fur flaring up. Five more pups and a kid faced him, all looking equally fierce; the gray mutt was just in front. Alright… two of the mangy pests he could deal with at once. Maybe even three or four. But not when there were more than that, one of them seemed to be part cyborg, and they had a blasted human with them? He wasn't risking it.

Swift muttered, "This is only the beginning," before retreating into the shadows.

Miracle quickly darted over to Chase and began assessing his injuries. "He has five broken ribs and his jaw is dislocated!" she reported fearfully. "I need to go to the Lookout to start surgery on him fast!"

"Surgery?!" Skye squeaked. "Like, cutting him open?!"

"I'm afraid so. I need to access his ribs in order to put them back into place."

"Have you ever even _done _surgery?" Skye pressed, trotting up to the other female pup.

"You'd be surprised." Miracle forced herself to sigh, releasing a breath she'd been holding in. "I've never done it with professional equipment before though." She barked into her collar, summoning her vehicle. Out of it, she dragged a pup-sized stretcher and carefully pulled him onto it. "Uh…" She hesitated, staring at Chase.

Rocky nodded, understanding her hesitance. "Ryder, I think she'll need your help to carry it."

Ryder gave a stiff nod. "Of course. We need to get to the Lookout pronto." He picked up the small stretcher and loaded it onto the ambulance before he looked at the patrol. "We'll need to split up. Someone needs to check on Mr. Forrester and Katie. Rocky and Rubble, you guys go and do that."

"But shouldn't I stick with Miracle?" Rocky asked, as Rubble chanted, "Rubble on the double!"

"I think I'll let it slide this time, considering the circumstances," Miracle said."

"Miracle's right. Between all of us, everyone will be okay. In the meantime, we just have to hope that he doesn't cause more problems. Swift is his name, right?"

"Yeah..." Skye replied.

"Alright then. Let's hurry up," Ryder said, looking down at Chase, whose tail gave a gentle wag despite his condition. _Hang in there Chase…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Miracle pulled her rig to a sharp stop at the Lookout. She immediately jumped out and pulled the stretcher out before taking Chase into the lookout. She dragged the stretcher through the added emergency entrance to the platform in the floor. By the time she got in there, sweat beaded the undersides of her ears under her fur, and she panted nervously as she yipped. No. Letting the stress get to her was not an option.

The platform the stretcher was on also lifted and put the stretcher on the medical table, large enough for a adult human but pup-sized enough for Miracle to do her work. A drawer of tools extended at her paws, and her eyes scanned the many different supplies she had. Most were even brand new… but she'd tarnish any one of them to help Chase, whose breathing was labored.

Miracle took out her needle and one of the many small canisters of sedative: strong enough to put a human to sleep for an entire operation. She loaded it with the stuff and put the needle through Chase's skin, pushing the button that slowly emptied its contents into Chase's bloodstream.

Chase's labored breathing immediately stopped, and Miracle gasped. Was it too much?! But then Chase's breathing began again, albeit very, very slowly.

Miracle sighed with relief, then picked around in the section of the drawer containing the sharp implements she would have to use to cut Chase's chest open… Wow, it sounded tough when she thought of that way...

'_Please let this go well,'_ she thought, as she took her scalpel and immediately got to work.

Skye, meanwhile, scanned the ground from the sky for Swift, the one who was responsible for injuring Chase. When she found him, she wouldn't care about the consequences, she would… she would… do SOMETHING drastic! Whatever it was, it would have to wait until she found him. Sooner rather than later, of course!

When the video phone she had on her helicopter started beeping off, Skye all put punched the button in. Maybe it was an update on Chase's condition, or Swift had been located and someone was kind enough to tell her about it!

"Skye?"

Disappointment fell over her face as she saw that it was just Zuma. On the beach, if the water behind him was any indication. "What is it Zuma?"

"I just wanted to see whether you spotted Swift. I already finished here; he's nowhere in sight." His gold eyes suddenly widened. "And besides, I know you're feeling upset. You saw Swift brutalize Chase like that."

"I'm fine. Just let me try and do my job?" A warning growl entered her voice.

Zuma frowned and could be seen pushing the button to end his signal, and then Skye's screen went black again.

Just then, another beep went off. She answered the video phone to see that it was Marshall. "Hey, Skye, just wanted to let you know that I'm in the clear, and that the park's east end is clear."

"Fine. Whatever. Bye."

"What-"

Skye shut her video phone off on Marshall before the other pup could respond. She shook her head and groaned irately. _If one more pup calls me..._

Another call was coming in. She slammed the button to answer the call and barked, "WHAT IS IT, PUP?!"

"Me, Ryder."

_'Oh...no...'_

"I was just going to tell you that there's no need to check City Hall. And Rubble and Rocky are checking Farmer Yumi's place."

Skye nodded.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine. Maybe you should come back and rest a bit."

"No, I need to look for him."

"Right now, I really don't think that would be a good idea."

"I can't just let him go! What about justice?!"

"The others are serving it. I think you need a break."

"You weren't there when it happened."

"No, I wasn't, but it's horrible just the same. And that would make you more exhausted than the rest of us, Skye."

Skye angrily pressed the button to the video phone and concentrated. What did Ryder know? He wasn't there when Swift punched Chase's jaw with enough force in attempt to cave his chest in! All that he had on her was literacy. Literacy and funky rad hair.

Maybe she did need a break though. She was feeling a little tired… and she needed to see how Chase was doing. Besides, it is hard to work while stressed, right?

With a reluctant sigh, Skye turned around and headed for the Lookout.

In the pumpkin field, Rocky could be seen scouting the area. His chocolate brown eyes scanned the area, narrowed with determination. If Swift was there, he would find him. He also had to keep an eye on Rubble, the younger of the two.

"Yuff!"

Rocky glanced over and sighed, seeing Rubble's hindlegs kicking madly. His face was buried in a sinkhole that'd opened under his paws. Rocky sighed and hurried up to him, grabbing his stubby tail and pulling him out. Rubble landed on top of him, and they rolled for a bit before stopping. "Rubble, you have to watch out for those. They can open at any time," Rocky said, his voice strained just a bit. This was the second time, and he was already in pain.

Rubble got up and gave Rocky a reproachful look. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just making sure Swift isn't in that hole hiding from the greatness that is Rubble Trouble THE HERO!

He jumped up triumphantly… only to fall into a hole that had been dug, but not filled.

Rocky rolled his eyes and once again pulled Rocky out by the stubby tail… once again being crushed under his own weight and then some. "And that's another thing, did you see what that mutt did to Chase?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah, he was in pretty bad shape." Rubble sniffed his way back to where he'd been looking before Rocky stopped him.

"That could have been any one of us, and he could still do it. You'll have to be careful."

Rubble snorted. "It'll be me protecting you!" he insisted before stomping away on his stubby, short little legs.

Rocky facepawed. Seriously. Rubble had more muscle mass than he did, but NOT common sense… He was also smaller and younger, so standing up to a two-year-old german shepherd would be a disastrous idea, putting it lightly.

"Besides, you're a little too young to be my dad."

Rocky's eyes widened. That kinda did sound like something that his father would say, but still. "Just...look out, okay?"

"Hmph… you look out…"

"Ugh..." Rocky groaned, then went back to sniffing for Swift.

"Rocky?"

Rocky moaned, "What?"

"He c-can't take on the two of us, right?"

"Yes he can," Rocky replied bluntly.

Rubble swallowed, "Are you sure?"

"Yup. But that doesn't mean he'd win." Rocky smirked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… it's one guy versus the two of us; he's outnumbered."

"Oh… I see."

"But it'll only work if we stay together."

Rubble nodded a touch timidly. "Okay Rocky. I'll stick by you if you stick by me."

Rocky nodded. "It's a deal."

He bent back over, dead set on getting back to sniffing… only for Rubble to latch himself at the mutt's side.

_Oh jeez..._

Skye landed her helicopter at the Lookout. She hopped out before she yelled, "Copter, doghouse," following it with a bark. The copter followed her command and transformed back into its trailer-like doghouse. She decided that it might be best if she checked in on Chase, maybe he was out of surgery by now. She walked into the Lookout.

When she entered, she almost instantly noticed Chase laying on the couch with Miracle. There were bandages wrapped around his chest, but he was still asleep. "Hey, Skye," Miracle whispered.

"Hey," Skye whispered back, "Is he okay?"

"Yeah. He pulled through rather well."

Skye couldn't help but feel that melting feeling one felt when they were relieved. "That's great. It was really worrying me."

"I heard."

_'Oh no... She heard it?'_

"Uh… Skye?"

"What?"

"Do you need to talk?"

"No… it's nothing..."

"Are you sure? It might be easier to talk to me than anyone else..."

"But-"

Miracle cut her off by pushing her well-cleaned white paw into her chest fur. "Look at it this way, have you ever had another girl on the team?"

"Well… No…"

"Wasn't that hard?"

Skye shrugged. "But I have talked with Katie a few times."

Miracle removed her paw and shook her head. "But not the same as talking to another pup, is it?"

"Maybe… I… dunno..." Skye stared into Miracle's green eyes and found herself a bit pressed for words.

"Well, we can talk about anything."

"Well…" Skye sighed, "Back in the alley… It was pretty scary. Seeing Chase beat up like that...I was scared that we might not make it out of there."

"I know what you mean. I've seen that a lot when I was living on the streets."

"How could you live with that?" Skye exclaimed, her voice cracking. "Everyday? I'm still trying to deal with just today!"

"Well, I was abandoned by my owners."

"I know..."

"And… I had no one, so trust me, talking can help. Even just confiding in someone your feelings is enough."

"...I know… but... I just..." Skye took a deep breath, and squeaked, "I was so scared, I saw everyone else being brave and… I was scared. I shouldn't _be_ scared."

Miracle stayed silent for a minute trying to think of what to say. Finally, she said, "Do you know how scared I was when I found out that I would have to live on the streets on my own?"

"Very?"

"I was terrified. I didn't know the first thing about living all alone. I worried about starvation, loneliness, disease, and…" She took a deep breath. "You know what I did about it?"

"What?"

"I was proactive. I decided that I was going to adapt, so I went out of my way to speak to some of the strays. I took a few risks. I made the streets my own."

"But weren't you afraid that one of them would-"

"Yeah, but if I didn't then I'd be a goner anyway. At that point, I had nothing to lose. The strays I did meet were pretty nice, some were…" Miracle waved her paw in a so-so motion. "But never have I come across anyone like that."

"I would imagine."

"But don't worry, he will be punished for this."

"Don't worry," Skye said with a cold tone in her voice, " He will."

Miracle started to back away from Skye a little surprised by her change of tone. "Right…"

Chase started to groan as he stirred.

"He's waking up," Skye whispered, her anger subsiding.

"Good, but be prepared for any… unusual things he might say."

Skye raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'unusual'?"

"I had to sedate him...and… well… sometimes it can make people and pups act weird. I also used a very strong sedative to I could be sure he would be okay."

"Oh… Is that why he's asleep?"

"Yeah, but at least he won't feel anything, but I will put him on an antibiotic and some painkillers."

"That's good, I guess."

"Huh?" Chase asked groggily, his eyes meandering to the two female pups.

Both girls looked at Chase. "Hey, Chase," Skye smiled, "We were just talking about you."

"Bwuh…?" Chase stared confusedly at the cockapoo in front of him.

The other two pups giggled before Miracle said, "All good things. So how are you feeling?"

"A little dizzy, like the whole room is spinning," Chase answered.

"Don't worry, it'll pass. Do you hurt anywhere?"

"No… Why?" He stared at her blankly. "Is this real life?"

Skye and Miracle tried to hold back a giggle, "Yes," Miracle answered, "This is real."

"Cool, dudes. So when do we eat?"

"Soon," Miracle replied.

Chase chuckled, "You guys are upside down."

Skye and Miracle exchanged a worried glance before looking back at the now-guffawing Chase."Are you alright?"

"Ye-Yeah, we're fine." Miracle said before thinking, '_I think I overdid it. A lot.'_

"Wow Skye, you look REALLY beautifuller today.

"Oh. Uh… Thank you," Skye said.

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Yeah, I'm one of your teammates."

"Oh yeah, you're that pup that I have a crush on."

Skye's eyes immediately widened as Miracle stared at Skye, then Chase, then back at Skye. "He's crazy with sedative," Miracle assured quickly, though she was internally chiding herself for going with the strong stuff.

"No I'm not," he said, looking confused. "Thinkin' clear as shiny dog tags."

"You're… Chase, you're not yourself right now."

"Then what am I if I'm not me?"

"Trust me, you are."

"But you just said that I'm not me."

"No, I said-" Miracle facepawed, "Nevermind…"

"Am I a cat?"

"No, you're a pup. You're just not in your normal mindset."

"Meow," Chase said.

Miracle tried to resist a laugh. At this point, she would only be beating a dead horse.

Skye, meanwhile, was in her own thoughts. Chase admitting a crush on her was an interesting revelation… even if it wasn't true. But what if it was? What if he really did have a crush on her and this information just now came into the open. "Uh… Miracle," she said, "I need to step out and get some fresh air."

"Oh. Uh… Okay. Just be careful out there."

"I will." Skye nodded definitely as she stood up and trotted away, though not without Chase exclaiming something about her being a pirate.

Once she was outside, Skye looked towards the stars. She began recalling the moments that the two shared. The more she thought about it, the more she thought that those events could be evidence that could verify what he said. Unfortunately, she can't give a definite answer because he wasn't of sound mind when he what he said.

She and Chase were buddies… why was she thinking so deeply into this? Chase was crazy when he said that. Yes, she did have her own feelings about him: friend, teammate, lover-

No. They were more like brother and sister, honest!

"Well well well… a fine evening, is it not senorita?"

Skye jumped up and yipped nervously before running back towards the Lookout, only to be pinned by him. Swift's hot breath smelled like a combination of tacos, bad dog breath and salmon hitting her muzzle. The stench was so bad that she felt as if she were going to throw up.

"Help!" she screamed.

"No ayuda will come to you... not soon enough anyway."

Skye immediately felt a good bit of pressure at the back of her neck before she blacked out.

Miracle dashed out of the Lookout's emergency door at the scream. She happened to notice that, disappearing through a rustling bush, was a light brown tail far bigger than any of the PAW Patrol's.

"Oh no," Miracle whimpered, before stifling herself. "Swift has struck again…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Marshall was scouting the woods, his blue eyes wide and determined. He had to find Swift. He couldn't let his friend be injured by that, that BEAST without getting back at him. He needed to be found and brought to justice before-

His collar beeped, notifying him of an incoming message. "PAW Patrol, we have a serious problem," Ryder said over the transmission, "Skye has been pupnapped!"

"What?!" Marshall practically yelled, "How? Who? Why?"

"Who do ya think," Rocky said in a perfect combination of deadpan and terror, "This is more than likely Swift's doing."

"He's gonna pick us off one by one!" Rubble's horror-struck voice added.

"Not if I can help it," Marshall said.

"Marshall, you might want to return to the Lookout and rest," Ryder said, "We'll search for them once we've rested."

"No, I'm going to look for them no matter what," Marshall declared before he signed off. He yipped on a short idea, bringing his water cannon out to his side.

Then, he continued to scan the forest. However, he was completely unaware of a dark presence watching him from the shadows...

Miracle was on the floor curled up. It was just a few minutes ago that Skye was kidnapped, yet she couldn't get the sight of Swift, or rather what she saw of him, out of her head. What's more, she felt that she was responsible for Skye's disappearance.

Chase, meanwhile, was just now coming out of his sedated goofiness. Miracle suspected it had to do with the panic she was in, curled up in a corner of the room and whimpering. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice less abnormally thick than it had been several minutes ago.

"No, I'm not. I made a mistake."

"What is it? You didn't line up my ribs wrong, did you?"

"No, your surgery went perfectly."

"Then...what's wrong?"

"It's Skye. I let her walk out of the Lookout knowing that that monster was out there and… He pupnapped her."

"No! Why?!"

"I really don't know why he would do that, but she walked outside wanting fresh air after you said that you had a crush on her, but I passed it off as something influenced by the sedative. I mean, it's just some random thing right?"

Chase looked as if his heart had gone to his throat. He could barely speak through the shock he was going through. After about a minute however, he muttered, "Of all times… It had to be while I was loony…"

Those words caused Miracle's heart to sink. "Oh my gosh… You really did have a crush on her?!"

Chase solemnly nodded.

Now Miracle felt really guilty. The kidnapping was one thing, but her patient admitted to his crush that he loved her… and Miracle told her that those were empty words. At this point, she felt like-

BLEARGH!

Chase nearly jumped as Miracle let loose the contents of her stomach. This caused Rocky, who was just now returning with Rubble, to hold his paw to his mouth. Chase noticed the duo out of the corner of his eye and looked toward them. "Uh… Hey guys…"

Miracle looked at Chase before looking toward the door. "R-Rocky…"

"Uh… You okay?"

"N-No… I did a terrible thing today…"

Rocky walked toward her afraid of what he was about to hear. "What is it?"

"Skye and I were talking, and Chase woke up. He was pretty doped up to the point where he thought he was a cat."

"Wait, I thought I was a cat?" Chase asked, narrowing his eyes skeptically.

"That's not even the half of it. Anyway, one of the things that he said was…" Miracle was trying so hard to fight tears. "He said that he had a crush on Skye."

"He does?" Rocky asked as he looked toward Chase.

"I told her that it was the sedative that caused him to say that because I didn't really think that he liked her that way, but… I think it's true."

Chase hung his head, not even trying to keep it secret. "Actually, I really do have a crush on her."

"Good for you," Rocky replied, "it's fun having a crush." His and Miracle's eyes met for just a meaningful moment before he returned to Chase. "But right now we have to wait for the PAW Patrol so we can rescue Skye."

"And this is where I really made the bad call…" Miracle said, not even bothering to stay composed. Tears trickled down her face. "I gave Chase a… very strong sedative… so neither of us could go save Skye, and had I known that Swift was out there, I wouldn't have even let her out the door. She wanted to think about... stuff… and I didn't help her when I saw the incident happen because… Because I was too scared." She finally broke down into hysterics, howling and crying without abandon.

Rocky immediately pounced on top of her, burying his gray fur into hers. "No, it's not your fault. Skye will be just fine!"

"How do you know that?! You know what they did to Chase!"

"I know, but she's a fighter if anything. Trust me, we'll find her."

Chase's ears fell against his head, and his eyes began to tear up themselves. "This is all my fault…"

Zuma dashed into the building, shaking himself and spraying water on all of the pups. Rocky didn't even look bemused when the water touched his fur; he was too busy nuzzling Miracle's neck and assuring her everything was okay.

"Zuma!" Rubble exclaimed, practically tackling the chocolate lab. "I'm scared… Swift has Skye!"

"I know he does," Zuma said, his gold eyes fearful but trying to be calm. He put an arm around the bulldog's back.

"It is all my fault," Chase reiterated once again, tears flowing freely down his face.

"We can't play the blame game!" Zuma announced. "We'll get Skye back, and she won't be hurt or… worse. Swift has no reason to hurt her, right?"

Miracle whimpered in response. "...Why is he doing any of this at all? He's a beast… a ruthless killing machine… Mr. Forrester, Chase, Skye… who's next?!"

"He has to have some reason to have come in from Brazil, dudes," Zuma reasoned, patting Rubble. "He also has to have some reason for attacking all of these people and pups. Something that somehow has to do with Chase."

He stared at Chase for just a second before he continued. "And he's more likely to keep Skye hostage until Chase shows up."

"But he's beat up pretty badly," Rocky replied, turning his gaze away from Miracle.

"Everyone here _knows _Chase, dudes," Zuma said in deadpan. "He's the type to sneak out to save someone, even if he's too injured to do a good job of it. He's relying on him showing up alone like some movie character. What we really need" - Zuma put one paw to his chin, - "is a plan. Maybe some kind of replacement police officer who can help track down Swift."

"Maybe, but who-"

"I have a friend," Miracle suddenly said, looking up. Streaks were still on her face from where the tears had fallen. "Her name is Storm…"

"Storm?" Rocky and Chase echoed back in unison.

"Yeah… Storm. She was another one of the strays in my area of the neighborhood. Um, she loves to help, and she's a bit older than me."

"Is there any way we can track her down?" Rocky asked.

Miracle nodded. "Yeah… she loved hanging in front of the police station, and in the one alley between it and the laundromat."

"Wait, the police station?"

"Yeah, she wants to make sure that her sister is as safe as possible."

"Sister?"

"Yeah. Her name is Lightning, and she _loves_ sports."

"How's her sister gonna help?" Chase asked.

"She won't. She just hangs around her a lot. You know, I one time thought that Storm was Lightning's mother! And she's not even that age!"

"Weird," Rubble said, still attached to Zuma's side.

"But can you blame me? She was pretty overprotective of her."

"Can we please go out and LOOK FOR SKYE?!" Chase barked before he felt a slight pain in his chest, and winced from it.

"I'll go get the painkillers," Miracle said, "It looks like the pain is starting a little sooner than I thought."

"Should we go?" Rocky asked.

"Yes, but let me take care of Chase first," Miracle said, "We can't leave him like this."

"Okay."

"I'll be fine," Chase said, "Just let me-"

"You are staying and that is final," Miracle said, "Doctor's orders."

"Ugh…" Chase groaned.

The alleys were quiet. The sun was already setting, so the light was dim at best; only . Miracle, Rocky, Zuma, and Rubble were scanning the area looking for the two pups. Miracle knew the scents of the pups that they were looking for, so she was the only one who was sniffing the area.

"Almost find them yet?" Rocky asked, looking over at the Australian shepherd.

Miracle's green eyes were narrowed with determination. "I'm on the trail… I think we're getting warmer."

"You mean colder," Rubble jokingly offered.

"No, I meant- Oh…" Miracle giggled.

"Anything?"

"Hold on." Miracle put a white paw out in front of the group for a moment. Shortly later, she walked ahead of the group and barked, "Storm? Are you there?"

"Miracle? Is that you?" a voice asked.

The pups looked and saw a doberman pup. She was a little taller than Miracle, and her blue eyes focused on Miracle's green ones.

"Yes, it's me," Miracle said, "Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. A few months, right?" Storm said after a moment of thinking. Her eyes wandered to the collar and pack she was wearing, and then to the group following her. She gasped. "And a member of the PAW Patrol at that. It seems you finally got over your fear, eh?"

"Well… Kinda… I had a little help," Miracle admitted. She gave Rocky a meaningful look that only he saw.

"Ah. Well, I'm glad." Storm came three steps closer and turned her attention to the whole group. "So, what brings you full on members of the PAW Patrol here?"

Miracle once again spoke for the Patrol. "Well… Let me put it this way… The PAW Patrol needs your help."

"Oh? Why?"

"Well, it's a long story," Rocky said. "Er… do you want to hear the long version or the short one?"

Storm waved a paw nonchalantly. "The proper version of the story. I've got time."

The pups all exchanged glances before Rubble, surprisingly, started. "Well, it was Miracle's first mission as a doctor on the team. A human was attacked… and it turned out to be our fellow PAW member Chase's brother, Swift, who did it."

"Chase, police officer Germie by the way, ran off and started sniffing for his brother, who is older than him," Miracle continued. "He ditched the rest of the Patrol, and by the time we found him… he was injured badly. Dislocated jaw and six broken ribs."

"Wow… That seems pretty bad," Storm commented.

A nod from Rocky was her response. "It is. We all went looking for Swift while Miracle here took care of Chase for a surgery. I guess Skye was extra tired, she's a little aviation cockapoo who actually witnessed Chase get mauled, and she went back to the Lookout. Someone probably recommended she go there."

"Chase was in a sedated state and confessed he like-liked Skye. She wanted to go out and think, and Swift nabbed her and Chase got reintroduced to reality. We all came in when they called us, and Miracle thought of you guys." Zuma finished with a nod. "We were hoping you could help us apprehend Swift."

Storm stared stony-gazed at the group of pups for a second as she contemplated how to respond. "...Wow," she eventually replied. "I see where Miracle would think of me."

"Yeah, with the one police dog down, we're going to need another dog to take his place for now." Rocky nodded definitely.

"I see… This is only temporary, right?"

"Most likely," Miracle answered. "But… it sort of depends."

"Alright…"

Just then, another doberman walked up to the group. This one was a little shorter and had amber eyes instead of blue. She also had a slightly lighter shade of brown covering her muzzle and paws.

Miracle looked at the pup and said, "Hello Lightning."

"Hey, Miracle. How are ya?"

"Well, I could be better, but otherwise, I'm fine. Just need to borrow your sister for a bit."

Lightning tilted her head. "Oh?"

"Yeah, we need her to track someone down," Rubble explained, almost smiling at the pup. She radiated a friendly aura that he liked!

"Can I come?" the smaller doberman asked.

Storm looked at her sister sternly. "No, I need you to stay here. The dog they want me to track down is going to be very dangerous."

"Everything is dangerous with you!" Lightning exclaimed with an exasperated roll of her amber eyes. "I just want to have a little fun! Is that too much to ask?"

"When your idea of fun could end up getting you hurt, yes."

"Hmmph!"

"Sorry, but I just can't deal with you possibly getting hurt." Storm

"Sis," Lightning said, "We've been living on the streets. How bad can it be?"

Storm looked away. "You have no idea how bad," she muttered darkly.

"So… are we going now?" Rocky asked. "This is a super-emergency."

"Yeah…" Storm then looked at Lightning, "Go to the station, Lightning."

"Actually, I think she might be safer somewhere else," Miracle said suddenly. "Besides, we need to make one quick stop there."

Both sisters looked at at Miracle. "Where?" they asked in unison.

"You are familiar with the Lookout, right?" Zuma asked, picking up on Miracle's drift.

"Yeah…" Storm replied.

"Well… it is a closed building… and what's a PAW Patrol member, even a temporary member, without gear?"

"I guess," Storm said.

"Then come on," Rocky said as he took a few bounds out of the alleyway. "We need to get moving."

"Okay," Lightning replied.

All seven pups dashed out of the alley and began the long run to the Lookout.

It was, thankfully, not a long run; the seven pups made it to the Lookout without consequence. When they got close, Rocky spied a certain rad-haired leader Chase talking by Chase's rig. Miracle led the charge to Ryder. "Ryder, we managed to get some help."

"That's good… Replacement officers, I'm guessing? I'll get you two some old rigs. They're pretty bare-bones, but they'll get you to cover more ground."

"Uh… Yeah," Storm said. "About that… It's just one of us that will be helping out."

Ryder's smile dropped. "Oh, so, uh…"

"Really? I thought that was a joke," Lightning said, pouting. "You were serious?"

Storm walked up to Ryder. "Sir, my sister needs to be kept here where she'll be safe."

"Okay. I'll assign someone to stay with her."

"I don't need anyone to pupsit me!" Lightning announced indignantly.

"Please, just do as he says."

"Ugh! Why can't I help?"

Rubble put his paw up timidly. "Ryder, sir, I can watch her here."

The funky-haired boy looked at the bulldog pup. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It won't be a problem," Rubble replied.

Miracle, remembering the introduction Rocky had once given for Rubble, she added, "Besides, I heard that he likes sports."

Lightning's ears perked up as she instantly grinned. "You do? What sports ya like?"

"All of them," Rubble chuckled.

"Me too!"

"Cool!"

"We need to go, sir." Chase said.

"No, you need to stay," Miracle said. "You're still under my orders. Or have you forgotten about your injury?"

"But-"

"She has a point, Chase, you are in no condition to be out there," Ryder said solemnly.

"But I can't just-" Chase's collar suddenly went off. None of the others' collars were bleeping like crazy… He almost immediately jammed the tag.

"Your little Dalmatian friend has joined the cockapoo," rasped a voice everyone could recognize.

"Swift! When I get my paws on you-"

"Oh, I look forward to seeing you."

Storm growled lowly. '_This is the monster we're dealing with?'_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Swift," Chase growled into his collar, "How were you able to contact me?"

"Through the dalmatian's collar, the other's broke," Swift explained, probably wearing the most devilish smirk.

Chase barked sharply. "What did you do to Skye?!"

"I haven't done anything to her. Well, not yet anyway..."

Chase growled, "You'll pay for this!"

"Oh no... I will soon get justice for what you did to me." Chase had a definite growl to his voice, as if reliving bitter memories.

"Justice would have been Dad's turning you in. This is insane!"

"What you call insane, I call just desserts."

"Swift, if you-"

The communication link was cut-off, and a loud beep followed.

"Urgh!" Chase kicked at the ground frustratedly. This caused him to wince in pain. "Grr!"

"I'll get the painkillers," Miracle said quickly, taking several quick steps towards the Lookout, "But this is why I don't want you out there right now. You really need to take it easy right now."

"What I want is for Swift to be taken off of the streets."

"Well… You can help by explaining what made him act this way," Rocky said, stepping towards the German Shepherd and putting a supportive gray paw on his shoulder.

Chase was silent for a minute.

"If you don't want to, Chase," Ryder said, "You don't have to."

Chase started to look in Ryder's direction, but he noticed two adult german shepherds approaching out of the corner of his eye. He turned towards them and squinted through the dark, trying to make them out. _No, it can't be…! _His eyes widened as the pair came into the light. He said, in awe, "Mom? Dad?"

This caught everyone's attention. They all looked at the two adults.

"Is that Pace?" Rubble asked, bouncing up to the male German shepherd. "Chase's dad? The ORIGINAL PAW Patrol pup?!"

Pace nodded and grinned. "Yeah; the one and only, kiddo. You're Rubble, right?"

The bulldog bobbed his head in a nod. "Yes… oh pup, I'm so excited I could just burst with joy!"

"Well, I wish we were here on a social visit," Chase's mom pointed out, "We're here to help… deal with Swift."

"Where have you been _living? _How far has the news spread?" Zuma asked, exchanging a glance Rocky, who was just in front of him.

Rocky shrugged in response to Zuma's glance. Ryder answered. "Well, Pace and Shayla have been living just across Adventure Bay, not far from the beach. They live at the owner of the animal shelter's house, and they help out the people and pups there."

"And what made you quit the PAW Patrol?" Rubble asked.

"Well, I suffer from arthritic pain after I went through an accident that resulted from the flood. I was already tired and stuff from the flood, and saved lives left and right, but… eventually I slipped on a rock, and…" He wiggled his left hind leg. He sighed wistfully. "I went a little too far that day. My joints have never been the same again, and this here paw is pure metal. Arthritis keeps me from doing much of anything today. I even had to rest several times on the way here."

"Oh...I'm sorry…" Miracle said, approaching with some painkillers for Chase. "Arthritis is tough. But if it helps any, I've heard of you guys. You are quite the talk amongst the strays."

"Speaking of which…" Pace turned towards Storm and Lightning. "I don't remember you telling me about these two pups."

"Oh, no, I'm just doing this temporarily." Storm explained.

Pace grinned. "Too bad. I really smell potential here; on both of you."

"Tell that to my sister," Lightning said with a roll of her eyes. "I'd LOVE to be a part of the PAW Patrol."

"Well, I think you'd do well." Pace smiled. "It's been a long time since we had a search-and-rescue pup. Or a guidance one, adding to that."

"But we just added a medical pup," Rocky said. His eyes were a bit sad as he looked at Miracle.

"Well, if there's one thing I learned during the flood, it's that you can never have too many helping paws." Once again, he gave his hind leg a wave. "A lot less damage woulda been done if there were more PAWs on the case."

"Yup. That's why we got her… That and the fact that she has serious skills."

"Yeah. Speaking of medical pups…" she tapped the top of the painkiller container emphatically. "You are taking two of these to start."

"Alright, alright," Chase replied before pushing a button on the top. Two of the huge blue and green pills dispensed themselves into his paw, and he put them in his mouth all at once.

"Don't chew them," Miracle reminded him just as Chase started the jaw movement.

Chase looked at Miracle as he swallowed. "...There. All better?"

"Yes. If you still feel in pain after a little bit… tell me."

"Okay."

"Guys, I think we should get some sleep," Rocky suddenly said, reluctantly. "I mean, I'm worried about Marshall, and Skye, and what Swift could do, but…" He looked over to the ground by his hind paw to see Rubble and Zuma sleeping on top of each other, the latter snoring gently. "I think we'd be more productive in the morning," he said before a colossal yawn.

"I agree," Shayla added. "We should all get to searching for clues first thing tomorrow morning. Swift can't stay up forever, and I doubt he'll do anything else tonight."

"It's much more likely he wants Chase there to see it," Pace added, "I just don't understand where we went wrong."

Shayla gave Pace a soft nuzzle, "It's not your fault. We just didn't know that any of this was going on."

"I know, but I should have been keeping an eye on him. And then when he pressured Chase…"

"I know, but we were lucky that he exposed Swift when he did, otherwise things would have been a lot worse."

Ryder nodded his own agreement. His own eyes were starting to bag underneath with lack of sleep, and he held an energy drink behind his back. "Yeah. Pups, bring your rigs inside the Lookout and then transform them; we aren't sleeping out here tonight. Pace, Shayla, Lightning and Storm, I'll get you guys your own doghouses in the morning; we have a temporary sheltering floor that should be good enough."

The pups nodded as they made their way to their vehicles. Ryder prodded Zuma and Rubble's sides for a long time before they awoke and went after their own.

* * *

Swift was looking at his two hostages without much emotion. Marshall's collar was hanging from his own neck, and the dalmatian looked very plain without it. He was asleep in the corner of a small cage he'd had prepared for just the occasion.

Skye, however, stared at him through vigilant magenta eyes that glared at him and took in every movement he made. Her tag was almost shattered on the ground beside the cage. Wires were hanging out of the cracks. Swift remembered what he'd had to deal with to do that: Skye said some nonsense about how the PAW Patrol would save her, and that she'd call them in, but he realized she was all bark and no bite pretty quickly when he stole her collar and crushed it with his own rock-hard paw (and a rock, for extra good measure).

"You know, mi dulce, you should get some rest. I won't hurt you in the night."

Skye's voice was cold as she retorted, "And why should I believe you?"

Swift snorted and smirked slowly. "Good point; you're smarter than you look. But aren't you going to need to relax? Or have you deluded yourself into thinking Chase would stumble in here and slip up tonight?"

"Don't talk that way about my friend," Skye snapped.

"I thought he was your crush," Swift grinned. "It at least goes one way. He is in total love with you."

"Well… Why should I believe you when you say _that?_" Skye asked, dodging the question.

"Ay, I take back my smarter than you look comment. You really are dense."

"He, and Rocky and Rubble and Zuma, and Ryder and Miracle… they'll all save us. And they'll kick your tail until you can't even wag!"

"Ouch… Strong words for someone who's under my control."

"The PAW Patrol always tells the truth."

"Listen, cock-a-doodle doo, I see a lot of myself in you." Swift's eyes lit up just a bit with interest. "Brave. Bold. Tough. And you know, we could be friends if you'd just understand."

Skye forced back a growl. "You hurt Chase. And Mister Forrester. You're nuts if you think I'm anything like you."

"You've got a lot of pluck as well, mi rosa bella."

"And you are a monster."

"That's one pup's opinion."

"I'm pretty sure it's not just me."

Swift rolled his eyes and smiled. "Ah, cock-a-doodle doo, you know, monsters are tough. They're brave. They can get what they need."

"But they always lose."

"Not always," Swift supplied with a sneer. "There are monsters in everyday life that are left unconquered by fearful civilians. Thorns in one's side who can twist things to their favor. If I'm a monster, doesn't that mean I can get what I want? Of course I can."

"For now anyway…"

"You'll see...I _always _win."

Skye glared at Swift, before turning around laying down in the cage.

Swift laid down and looked into the sky. '_Soon Chase. I will have the last laugh.'_

* * *

All of the PAW Patrol members were inside the Lookout. In addition to them, were Chase's parents, as well as Lightning and Storm; the latter groups were in the spare room in the Lookout, large and containing beds abound.

Most of the pups were already asleep. Chase was having trouble going to sleep because of thoughts that were lingering in his head; who _wouldn't _crack under the pressure? Swift had Skye _and_ Marshall, he'd been injured to the point that Miracle wouldn't let him leave the lookout, and now his father has come out of retirement when he should be resting his arthritic leg because of Swift.

He wanted Swift to _pay._ He didn't care how; he just wanted Swift to pay. What Swift did to himself, Marshall, and… especially Skye… was more than uncalled for, it was illegal, and caused other pups, and humans, to suffer. Now he wanted the same thing to happen to Swift.

"Chase?"

Chase looked up at Shayla, who was just padding up to him. "Hey Mom," Chase said to her. "What are you doing down here?"

"I couldn't sleep. Are you worried about Swift?"

"Beyond…" Chase shook his head and sighed.

"We'll do our best to bring him to justice. You need to rest or you can't do anything to help tomorrow."

Chase whimpered loudly. "But I already won't do much!"

Shayla's eyes softened with understanding. "Chase, we can't really do anything while we worry about you."

"I know," Chase admitted with a sigh. "I just hope no one else gets hurt in the process… Or worse…"

"Yeah…"

"But Skye would never have been pupnapped if… something never came out of my mouth…" Chase sighed and lowered his head shamefully.

"What?" Shayla tilted her head with genuine curiosity.

"I…" Chase sighed before continuing, "While I was sedated, I admitted that I… had a crush on her."

"Oh…"

"And then she walked out to think about it… and, well, you know what happened next…" Chase buried his muzzle in his paws.

"Chase…"

"And Miracle thought it was just because I was sedated that I said that, which I don't blame her for thinking that; she did overdo it."

"But...You really do like her."

"Yeah…" Chase lifted his head. "And now I might not see her again. All because of…"

"I know…"

"Why did I have to say that…?"

"You couldn't help what came out of your mouth. You might find this hard to believe, but your father actually said some random things when he was sedated."

"Oh…"

"He was even shocked to learn that we were mates."

Chase slightly chuckled.

"But he said that I was the most beautiful dog in the room. He got that part correct."

Chase couldn't help it, and laughed.

Shayla smiled, "Well, that certainly helped."

"A little."

"We'll get her back, Chase. I know we can."

"I hope so… Just don't forget Marshall. That would be bad if we left him there."

"Yeah… We will. Just get some rest. And I'll be right here if you need anything."

"Okay. Thanks Mom."

"You're welcome, sweetie." She gave Chase a warm nuzzle before walking back to her sleeping mate.

Chase lay down and curled into a ball. "We'll save you, Skye…" He said before going to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Tempers and temperatures were running high in the kitchen that night! Several pups were scurrying around the silver-plated place and tossing ingredients into dishes or pots, stirring said pots, and pulling things out of ovens and stoves. Tonight was a big night; the King and Queen of Camaraderie Island were coming, and they needed a perfect dinner service!

Chase looked out over all of the pups around the kitchen, adjusting the chef's shirt he wore just slightly as he wondered what to do next. The roasted turkey was already in the oven, tended by Rocky and Marshall, and it tantalized his nose. Rubble was dealing with the pasta, occasionally saying something with his thick Italian accent he had for some reason. Miracle was already dealing with pulling out the croissants, which were burning hot.

All of the vegetables were already cooking, to be removed from the stove in a moment. And then… there was Skye, who was searching for the proper ingredients for a truffle-oil kale meal. His tail wagged just slightly has his decision was made, and he skipped up to his crush.

"Skye, let's come to the side," he said, smiling. "We should get out of the way to do this."

The cockapoo thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright then, Head Chef Chase." She picked the wooden board with all of the ingredients on it in her mouth, and Chase led the way to Out of the Way, which was a small, candle-lit table to the side.

When they headed off to the side, Chase exhaled, "Skye... For the longest time I've wanted to admit something to you."

Skye and Chase started cutting up the green kale plants. "What did you want to say?" she asked, not turning away from the task at paw.

"Skye, I- Look at me when I tell you this, it's really important!"

Skye frowned, "But I need to get this done."

"I know this isn't the best time, but… please."

Skye sighed and looked into his brown eyes.

"Skye... I-"

In a sudden flash of light- Skye was gone!

"Skye? SKYE?!" Chase shouted.

"Rye! Rye!" someone else yelped.

Chase turned towards the pups in the kitchen. "Guys, I need to find Skye! She disappeared!"

Nobody even looked his way as the head chef dog ran away, gritting his teeth. His brown eyes were wide and fearful as he charged across the red and gold carpet of the restaurant and towards the emergency exit-

"_Muy caliente, señorita! MUY caliente!_"

"Chase, THE KALE!"

The sound of the pups yelling added more speed to his steps as he burst through the door and spied Swift, picking his teeth with a small wooden toothpick. Scraps of fur and blood covered his long muzzle. "About time you got here," he said, smirking at Chase. "Because it is time for you to face your doom!"

"Y-You ate Skye!" Chase wailed, before leaping at the older dog, teeth bared. No vestige of sadness was in his system… just revenge.

Swift leapt out of the way. "Catch me if you can!" he exclaimed, running back through the door of the restaurant.

"SWIFT! IF YOU DON'T GIVE SKYE BACK-" Chase cut himself off as he charged after Swift, his bounds long, almost majestic.

By the time Chase got in, Swift was wreaking havoc in the kitchen. Pots were overturned, and ingredients covered the floor in puddles and piles. Every pup was screaming as Swift chased after them all, roaring like a monster. Rubble dashed past Chase, yelping, "Pasta! Pasta!" before Chase spotted Skye, laying on the ground amidst everything.

"Skye!"

Chase dashed up to the cockapoo… but she vanished before his very eyes! Tears flecked those same eyes as he shouted, "NOOOOOO!"

Swift laughed evilly before taking the turkey out of the stove and throwing it so it burst all over the snooty-looking king and queen.

"GAH!"

Chase looked around. He was still in the Lookout, along with all of the other pups, Ryder, and Pace and Shayla. The only two pups that were missing were Skye and Marshall. He breathed a brief sigh of relief thinking, '_Why did the pain meds have to be that strong?'_

"Are you okay, Chase?"

Chase looked toward the source of the voice. It was Rocky. It was obvious that Rocky was still a little drowsy, but he seemed to be a might more concerned about the outburst.

"Y-yeah," Chase said, "Just had a weird dream."

"What was it about?" Miracle asked, fully alert. Her stray days had left her able to come to full attention at second's notice.

Chase looked at the Australian shepherd, fear in his wide brown eyes. "Well, we were in this kitchen-"

"Kitchen?" Rubble echoed back, yawning.

"Yeah, you had an Italian accent. Anyway, we were preparing this dish-"

"Why?" the young bulldog asked.

"Because there was this king and queen coming."

"No, I mean… why did I have an accent?"

Zuma frowned. "What were the king and queen doing there?"

"And how does this turn into a nightmare?" Rubble added, drowsiness thick in his voice. "Sounds pretty nice…"

"Guys, let the pup speak," Rocky cut across the pups. "Alright, so we're all cooking something for this king and queen. What happens next?"

"Well, I pulled Skye to the side to confess those feelings I had for her, and we were cutting this vegetable. I started saying it, but then she disappeared, and I heard her and Swift's voices. No, Swift's voice and Skye's scream!"

"Oh my goodness, that's terrible!" Miracle exclaimed.

"And it didn't get any better when I saw blood on his muzzle."

All the awoken pups gasped.

Chase shook his head, suddenly feeling very frazzled. "I thought he ate her…"

"Oh… My…" Rocky said, his jaw hanging.

"It may have just been the medicine," Miracle pointed out, "But that's still horrible to think about."

"And half of what happened in that dream, actually less than half of it, happened..."

"No it didn't," Zuma said, putting the paw he wasn't holding Rubble with on Chase's shoulder. "Skye won't be dead. The king and queen won't visit, and we won't cook for them. All that was just a dream."

"How do you know that she _won't _die?" Chase asked.

"Strategical analysis," Zuma said. "Dude, Swift wants to see you in pain. If he hurts Skye, he'll do it in front of you. I doubt Marshall is gonna be hurt either."

"But-"

"Also, the only thing that happened in your dream that happened in real life was the crazy confession," Zuma added.

"And I was doped up when it happened," Chase said looking at Miracle. His voice was at least somewhat calmed down by the lab's words.

Miracle groaned and shook her head. "Ohh, this is my fault…"

"It's Swift's fault," Rocky said firmly, "He's the reason why all of this is going on."

"And we'll stop 'im first thing when we have a plan," Rubble added, bouncing up to Chase. "Skye and Marshall won't get hurt until we get over there, so we have plenty of time!"

"And they probably won't get hurt at all," Rocky hastily added, noticing the tired bulldog's faulty wording.

"You wanna just wait him out?"

"I think that's the plan," Rocky said with a nod. "You'll recover, and Ryder will give us all jobs to do in the morning. The only bad thing that could come of taking our time is he gets impatient and…" He immediately stopped, knowing what would come next.

Chase's eyes became pinpoints. Rocky looked apologetic at his slip-up.

"He won't harm them in any way until get there, if at all," Zuma said with a sigh. "Normally we could worry about starvation, but it won't be long, and Swift would again want to have you there. They'll be fine."

He suddenly remembered a horrible moment from his dream, "But...if Swift starves, he might eat them!"

"If he couldn't do it in front of you, then it's impossible," Zuma said with a shake of his head. "He could hunt enough for himself AND a whole litter."

"No...I can't risk it. _We_ can't.

Zuma suddenly gave him a cross look. "If you go over there without being fully recovered, you'll end up dead and they'll be in serious pain when they do so."

"And if I don't, both of them could die."

"Your friends, Storm and Lightning, your mom and PACE, the great PAW founder, are going," Rocky said incredulously, "And at the rate we're going, we might as well take the whole town! They aren't going to get hurt. You need to focus on recovering so you can go without getting them killed!"

Chase opened his mouth, ready to yell at the mutt… but he shut it. Now that he thought about it, it _wouldn't _work for Swift if he didn't hurt Chase a great amount… at leastt, if he didn't get impatient. "We go tomorrow."

"That wouldn't be a good idea," Miracle said, "Your ribs-"

"It is Ryder's decision," Rocky cut across coolly, nudging Miracle's side. "If you're super quick with recovering, and do what you're told, then we might have Skye here by the end of tomorrow. It depends on how smoothly everything runs."

"...Okay…" Chase said, narrowing his eyes. "I'll take that, then. I'll recover using any means!"

"But ribs ta-"

Rocky immediately covered Miracle's mouth. "Yeah, just keep recovering! Miracle will keep you posted on your health and, who knows, you might be ready long before we even go!"

"Right. I'll recover and I can help… perfect. Sleep is the best medicine, so good night pups!"

Chase quickly walked in circles in his dog house and laid down again, yawning loudly and snoring himself to sleep.

Satisfied, everyone else went to sleep in their respective houses as well.

Pace wandered out of the guest room. He was finding it difficult to sleep; his head was throbbing with the memories of the previous day. He tried several times to shake them off, but with no avail. Plus, he had a serious crick in his neck…

He was in a long, metal-plated hallway lit by the flashing, moving lights along the floor and ceiling. Not much had changed this old structure, Pace couldn't help but think. Even though it wasn't really that long ago when he last saw it, he couldn't help but feel that he was young again.

And Chase… He had so much of his father in him. His determination was beyond what he boasted. That was both good and bad. It was good that he stayed true to himself, but with the current situation, it would prove to be a problem if he pushed himself too hard. While he knew Swift was his _son, _he was naturally disdainful towards criminals, and knew that if Chase did what he wanted to, then it would end in absolute disaster for either one or both of the pups, as well as everyone around them.

He cringed with pain as he took a turn into the next section of the hallway. His back bones felt as if they'd been knocked out of place, and he knocked at them to no avail. It was painful to move, but he knew that the pain would persist unless he did so.

"Honey, what are you doing out here?" Shayla asked as she quickly walked up to him. A worried expression was etched on her face.

"I couldn't sleep," he replied, a note of frustration in his voice. "And now the darn back is giving me problems again."

"Well, I could fix that. Please, get some rest."

"I've been trying for hours but can't. I'm too worried about this whole Swift situation."

Shayla was silent for a minute. Even though she wasn't going to admit it, the situation with Swift was a bit of a touchy subject to her. Not in the sense that she'd break down in tears over it, even if she did feel like doing so, but she wanted to _defend _her gone-awry son. But there was nothing that he did that she could condone.

Running off to Mexico had been one such thing she couldn't forgive. She had yet to understand the reasoning behind the risk, but all that she knew was that Swift had wanted to create a new life for himself in the place.

Mexico was known as a place filled with animal cruelty and gangs of dogs who did nothing but harm each other.

Unfortunately, Swift was bad news before he left for Mexico. The events of what had happened still rang through her head…

It was almost a year ago when four dogs were outside the shelter. Pace was laying in the cool shade while Shayla was watching the pups. For about a week, there was a noticeable change in Chase's behavior. She wanted to ask him, but at the same time, she didn't want to pressure him and drive him away. However, it wasn't healthy for Chase to be feeling this way.

Eventually, she built up enough courage to ask Chase to come over. "Chase. Can you come over here, please?"

"Um… S-sure Mom…" Chase said as he walked over to Shayla.

"Chase? Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, never better. Why?"

"Well… I just don't think everything's alright."

"Why would you think that?"

"You just… You seem a little uneasy."

"I'm not uneasy, I'm perfectly fine."

Shayla raised an eyebrow. "Chase, I'm your mother. You can tell me anything."

"I-it's nothing," Chase was starting to look very uncomfortable.

Shayla started to rub his back with her paw. "Chase, please tell me. I know something's up and it's not like you to lie."

Chase's ears perked up. "How did you-"

"You are a terrible liar. I know which signs to look out for, and you were showing plenty of them."

"Then why didn't you… you know…"

"Because I know that it wasn't like you to do it, but for it to affect you for this long…"

Chase remained silent.

"Would you like to get it off of your chest?"

Chase bit his lip.

"Did you do something wrong?"

Chase shook his head "no". "But at the same time, I feel like I am."

"Well… You can tell me. No matter what it is, I won't be mad at you."

Chase paused before, "Swift has been mean to this one pup and he told me not to tell anyone or else."

Shayla felt a lump in her throat, "Was this pup mean to him?"

"No…"

Shayla took a deep breath, "Oh no… Why…?"

"Because this pup that he's mean to is very clumsy."

"I wasn't looking for an answer in that question, but thank you." Shayla stood up. "Okay… Your father and I will discuss this and we'll talk about this and decide what to do from here."

Shayla was brought back into reality when Pace tripped and collapsed onto the floor, resulting in a loud yelp. Shayla darted to his side. "Pace, are you okay?"

Pace struggled to get up. The pain was intense. It felt like he was hit by a semi on the inside, and like his nerves were all on fire.

"Get me a doctor… Now…"

"P-Pace, there is no-" Shayla quickly recalled Chase's injury and the pup who'd taken care of it. She nodded definitively. "I'll be back in a second!"

"Urgh… ohhh…"

Shayla ran down the hall-way, thanking the stars that she knew where the elevator was. She jammed the button to go down to the ground floor and dashed out. The doghouses were all lined up against one wall; in one, she spied Chase sleeping, though he didn't seem happy.

Then she spotted a green doghouse with Rocky sleeping inside. She charged up to it, ready to awaken the pup inside… but no, wait, that wasn't the medical pup, that was the eco pup.

She backed away and looked towards the next doghouse. A tiny bulldog was snoring just slightly as he slept.

Shayla dashed to the next one, a white doghouse with the word "AMBULANCE" painted on there backwards and roused the pup inside. Almost immediately her green eyes snapped open. "We have an emergency," she told the pup in an urgent whisper. "It's Pace's arthritis!"

Miracle gasped and grabbed her gear. The two female dogs dashed into the elevator and mashed the buttons. "What happened?" Miracle asked.

"He was walking, he couldn't sleep, and he tripped. He can't get up because of the pain he's going through."

"Okay, I'll have to grab some meds to make the pain at least a little tolerable, long enough to get him back to his bed, but a massage should help."

Shayla nodded, trembling.

Miracle ran out and soon returned with some medicine. "Let's go," Miracle said as she darted passed Shayla.

Miracle dashed through the hall until finding Pace, groaning on the floor. "Ohh…"

Miracle took four of the pills out and moved around in front of Pace. "Open up."

The old dog looked up at her sadly before opening his mouth. She dropped the pills in, and he swallowed them with a huge gulp.

"Now they should be able to last long enough for you to return to bed, but a massage will also help to ease the pain. Let's get started now; I know they take a little bit to start working."

"Kid, I'm afraid it'll never work," Pace said, groaning out again. "I've had massages before… they don't help me entirely…"

"Yeah… Hi. I'm Miracle. The nurse pup of the PAW Patrol. We spoke earlier."

She jumped around to his back and slowly started rubbing the huge mass on his back… and in a moment, she pushed a little harder.

While the massage felt good, Pace knew it was no good.

"So, you're the first member of the PAW Patrol, right?"

"Yes…" Pace didn't really see what that had to do with anything.

"I have to say, it really is an honor to meet the one that started it all."

"Well, technically, Ryder's parents started it all, but I know what you mean."

"So… How did Ryder's parents start it?"

"Well… It's kind of a long story. One I- really don't feel up to recounting. Man, where did you get these massage skills?"

"You'd be surprised where I learn all of this."

"Oh. Wanna tell me?"

"It came from living on the streets, I had to take care of myself, and that included massaging wounds."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I also had a fear of humans for a time, but that is a story for another day. Let's just say though that if I had never met Rocky, I would have been in the dog pound by now."

"That would've been a darn shame."

"Yep, and because of said fear of humans, I would have been put to sleep because not one human would want to adopt me, not with how I would react to them at the time."

"Wowee… That's really a good thing that the PAW Patrol got you."

"Yeah… and Rocky helped me with my fear of humans while I helped him with another thing he had going on, but I will say no-"

"His hydrophobia?"

Miracle had a shocked expression on her face. "How did you-"

"I was there when they recruited him."

"Oh. But anyway, he is making great progress, though I'm not quite finished yet. I mean, he did lose both of his parents in the flood. THAT will actually take longer than it took to get my problem taken care of."

"I remember that flood, obviously."

"It changed a lot of lives, I will say that."

"It did… But not necessarily for the worse."

Miracle tilted her head. "How so?"

"Well, as much as I loved my job, I think it was for the best that I needed to retire because there were certain dogs that I wanted to be able to spend more time with." He glanced at his mate.

"Oh… I see."

"It also showed the city how important the PAW Patrol was. Without it, none the mess would have been cleaned up, and progress would have been brought to a halt."

"Wow… You were really a hero, huh?"

"Yeah… Not just me, but it also felt like the end of an era because as soon as that flood ended, a whole new generation pretty much rose from the ashes.

"The current members?"

Pace nodded. "Which includes you, young lady."

"Me? But I wasn't even there. Well… Kinda, but I didn't become a member."

"It's never too late."

"I guess not… And we have yet another member… She says its temporary, but then you never know…"

"That's true."

"Anyway, how's you back now?"

Throughout this entire conversation, he never thought of his back. Oddly enough, he didn't even feel anything. Looks like the meds were working, that goes without saying, but it could also be that she diverted his attention from it.

"I barely feel anything.." Pace's voice was pretty shocked.

"Then I guess I've lived up to my name once again." She got off of Pace's back and grinned. "One thing that I learned about on the streets is this: If you don't think of the pain then you won't feel it. I mean, it is helpful to have meds around, but I didn't have any access to drugs, not without risking any legal problems, and I did not want to deal with the police over a simple matter. It's just not worth it."

"I see. Anyway, thank you for your help."

"No problem. And remember to take it easy, especially with that hip. That's the root of the problem."

Pace nodded and stood up, stretching out. "Urf… thanks."

"You're welcome. I'll help you get back to your room."

Pace looked in Shayla's direction and smiled. "Thanks, but I don't think that'll be necessary."

Miracle looked at Shayla and nodded. "Alright then."

The Australian shepherd pup stepped out of the way as Shayla ambled over to her mate. A soft look was in her honey-yellow eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked Pace.

"Yeah," Pace said, still taken aback. His tail gave a slight wag. "Better than I have been for a long time, actually," Pace added. "I'm not entirely painless, but… my back feels good as new. And my other limbs, with our miracle worker here…" The old dog looked emphatically at Miracle.

Miracle giggled at the pun that was delivered.

"I mean, my arthritic pains have been so bad lately… Would you help me with my joints tomorrow. Please?"

"I can help now if you want." Miracle nodded after she said that.

"Oh, no, sweetie. You need your rest," Shayla said with a motherly sternness in her voice. "First thing tomorrow would work better for all of us," she added, looking at Pace."

"Okay. I'll see you then."

Miracle immediately started walking back to her doghouse, letting out a succinct yawn on her way around to the elevator. Shayla looked at Pace and smiled. "And we better do the same."

"Are you sure? I could climb a mountain right now."

Shayla giggled. "Climb the mountain in the morning. It's time for sleep."


End file.
